Consumer Prices Ticked Down In October

The major reason for the dip: "The energy index turned down in October after increasing in each of the three previous months as the gasoline and household energy indexes declined after a series of seasonally adjusted increases."

On that point, the energy news this month may not be quite so good. The Associated Press just moved this "alert": "Oil hits $100 per barrel for the first time since July."

According to BLS, consumer prices have risen 3.5 percent in the past year.

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